Filter Effect
by Elybear
Summary: In order to change the outside of something you don’t like, you have to change the insides, Hermione realized with a start. -ON HIATUS-
1. Chapter I

**Title: **Filter Effect

**Summary: **In order to change the outsides of something you don't like, you have to change the insides, Hermione realized with a start.

**Rating:** M

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Author's Notes: **This will be my first posted story on here. I am aware that there is plenty of room for improvement... but this bunny attacked me in first period and now it's multiplied! I'm halfway though another chapter for a completely different story…and I haven't even finished this one. Oh well… Hermione (and others) are probably out of character because this plot isn't very likely…but so what I don't care. Oh, this isn't one shot...I just didn't feel like typing anymore. I'll update regularly...since I have no life and sit in front of the computer all day anyway. Another note, let's pretend that Hermione isn't monitored on underage use of magic in this chapter, and I'll pull together some explanation in the next one. Okay I'm rambling.

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Part One:

Icy rain poured in thick sheets on the milling students outside a puffing scarlet steam engine. Most of the irritated students huddled morosely under charmed umbrellas as they waited impatiently for their parents to rescue them from the cold that was sinking into their bones. Others didn't even bother to try and hide and just stood under the sky that was unrestrainedly pouring buckets upon their heads.

The crowd waiting to pass through the platform between nine and ten dwindled as the students apparated away, or were whisked away by friends and family to exchange fond farewells. It wasn't difficult for a bedraggled Hermione Granger to shove her way through a small group of protesting third years to the head of the line. Not bothering to wait for the teacher who was waving students through in twos and threes to avoid suspicion to let her through, Hermione fell sideways through the brick wall and into Muggle London.

"Hermione, dear!" The sound of her name earned the soaked teen's attention, and she raised her head enough to meet the dark eyes of her mother. Pushing her way past bunches of tourists, she staggered through a particularly rowdy group with a grimace and ducked under the large umbrella that Jane Granger held out for them.

"Honey, where are Harry and Ron?" Her mother asked, her brow knitting together in concern. When Hermione made a noncommittal noise and shrugged, her mother wisely let the matter go. Together, they wound through the crowd, while Hermione's mum kept one arm around her shivering daughter's shoulders until they reached the car.

Hermione looked around the deserted parking lot as she waited for her mother to unlock the car. Pulling a small trunk from the pocket of her black hooded jumper, Hermione tapped the wood twice with the tip of her mahogany wand and whispered, "_Engorgio_." Soon her normal-sized trunk was packed into the back of the small black car and the two were speeding onto the freeway towards home.

Hermione hunched down in her seat, hugging her arms to her chest as she let her mind wander over the last few hours that had passed on the train. The golden trio was no more, or at least it seemed to be that way. It was common knowledge among Gryffindor House that Hermione was the brains of the group, and it seemed to outsiders (and even the ones inside) that intelligence was her only attribute. Her friends had long gotten use to the dark brown wild curls that had long since been described as "bushy". Hermione was not one to flaunt something she didn't have, so shapeless robes was what she wore nearly every day, except on weekends when she slipped into jeans at least two sizes too big, and was never seen without an oversized jacket.

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and Hermione ruthlessly shoved down the pitiful desire to bawl. They had _no right_ to say that about her! Since being a prefect, and the only reliable one she noted with some vehemence, she had taken it upon herself to assist the first years and such with their trunks and patrolling up and down the compartments to monitor the use of magic. Quite accidentally she stumbled upon a conversation between Harry and Ron that made her stop dead in her tracks, one she was certain she was never meant to hear.

"---Honestly, Harry, I never will understand what I saw in her. Bloody mental, that one."

"I know mate. Sure, she's smart, but it's not like she acts like a girl, you know?"

"Yeah, exactly. The only time that she was even _worth_ looking at was in fourth year at the Yule ball, and even then, it wasn't much."

"If she didn't wear a skirt, no one would have any idea that she _was_ a girl."

The sound of snickering followed behind Hermione as she had turned on her heel in tears. All of their mocking had forced her back into her first year, when she had heard Ron and Harry saying the same mean things about her as she trailed behind them to class. The realization that they were still the same caused all the emptiness and insecurities she had managed to push away from her thoughts to tumble down upon her. She blindly stumbled along the hallway toward the lavatory in hopes of getting some privacy, her mind reeling at the knowledge of what the two people she called best friends actually thought about her.

Hermione had rubbed her chest against the fierce ache that had begun to spread as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. Alone in the loo, she gave herself free reign to crumple in a heap on the floor, trying to stifle the sobs that wracked her chest and shoulders.

What they said pinpointed every single weakness she had with such ease, stripping her down to the trembling little girl that hated herself because she could never measure up. She spent all those hours in the library because the only way she would ever gain respect in the Wizarding World was through forceful knowledge. No one else had to try, but Hermione had to bust her ass because of her heritage.

It hurt her so much because they were _right_. They saw through the masks of self-righteousness that she put up and knew that she wasn't worth their time. Everyone could tell that it was just chance that they even became friends in the first place.

Six years of friendship, plotting against Voldemort, finding all the Horocruxes in the summer after fifth year and halfway through sixth had done nothing to change their views. Not only that, but they had left to her the task of researching how to destroy all the Horocruxes as the boys played chess and complained. They immediately assumed that she would jump at having that job; she _hated_ it in all actuality. They didn't even ask. Hermione would rather be out there killing some death eaters, but they shoved onto her the research job. She did it resignedly, because it was the only way to get things done.

Sighing, Hermione huddled deeper within the recesses of her jumper as her mother reached forward to crank the heat up in the car. Hermione glanced over at her mum, noticing that she looked slightly nervous and was gripping the steering wheel rather tightly. Dismissing it to the rain-slick road, she jumped when Jane spoke. "Mya, is something bothering you?"

Hermione chewed on her bottom lip as she pulled the black hood over her waterlogged curls. "Nothing, mum. Just cold." She stared blankly out the window and chastised herself for deluding herself that Harry and Ron would even see beyond her brains. Hell, even those weren't that attractive. She mentally snorted and looked down at her soaked converse.

"We'll be home soon, are you hungry?"

She shook her head silently, and despite her efforts, her thoughts trailed back to Harry and Ron. Why did the things that they had said bother her? And as in every situation, the analytical part of her brain kicked in. She mused that Harry and Ron had said those things because they probably believed them. That's not what hurt about what they said- it was the matter-of-fact, cotton-dry way to what they said that implied they believed the rest of the world agreed with them. And if she herself agreed with them, even if it was only a miniscule- okay not so miniscule- part of her, well, then things needed to change.

Hermione felt her spirits begin to lift as the wheels in her head started spinning. In order to change the outside of something you didn't like, you had to change the insides, she thought with a start. Well, it looked like Hermione has some soul searching to do.

By the time the two pulled into the driveway of their two-story gray-blue house, Hermione's fingers where itching for a quill to write down all the things she was thinking of. She was dimly aware of dragging her trunk out of the car, and with the assistance of her mum, pulling it into the house. Leaving her belongings at the foot of the stairs for the time being, Hermione raced up the stairs and bolted to her room.

Shutting the door behind her, Hermione heaved a sigh of relief. _Finally_, she was back in her sanctuary. Numerous pencil sketches and drawings were taped on the walls; an easel was propped up in the corner with a half finished acrylic painting resting near her brushes.

Sitting down on her bed, the emotionally drained teenager tugged off her wet shoes and dropped them on the floor near the head of the mattress. Flopping down and sprawling the entire width of the queen size bed, the brunette nuzzled her face into the dark gray comforter.

Mum always told me to pick my battles, Hermione mused to herself. There is no point in me acting like there is a stick up my arse all the time. No wonder Fred and George always pinpoint me as a test subject for their pranks. Making a sound of distaste Hermione rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling. In the summer of her third year, she had purchased a wide variety of fabrics in varying shades of dark green and tacked them onto her ceiling. Her eyes followed the well-worn path of an emerald strip, noting with a pang how it matched the hue of Harry's eyes. She would have to replace that, she decided.

It's official, Hermione realized. I've got to change. There's no other way to change the ways that people perceive me. And the way I perceive myself, she thought ruefully. With a little more soul searching, some exercise, and maybe a shopping trip that her mother was forever trying to drag her to, Hermione could finally start to let go and relax. And just in time for her seventh year.

Hermione rose from her bed and rummaged through her closet for something dry to change into. A pair of jeans and a black shirt was the selected articles of clothing, and with her eyes scanning the content of her closet, Hermione mentally added some new clothes to her list. If she was going to change on the inside, she decided grimly that the outside might as well go along for the ride.

Slipping through the door, Hermione trundled down the stairs to speak with her parents about her change that was long deserved.

Part Two:

The first day of hols dawned gray and gloomy, and Hermione Granger woke with her sense of rock solid determination still raging. Dragging herself akwardly out of bed, the seventeen year old rushed through her morning routine and slapped on some clothes before focusing on the imposing task in front of her: cleaning out her wardrobe. And before breakfast, too. But if Hermione didn't do it now...she'd never get it done.

Soon a pile of shirts she hadn't worn in years, along with several pairs of jeans were gathered untidily on her unmade bed. Neck deep in musty smelling clothing, Hermione wrestled a rather moth-eaten looking sweater from a hanger. Disgusting piece of clothing, and she wondered vaugely where in the hell she had ever got it.

By mid morning her parents were stirring and Hermione had a rather empty looking walk in closet. Since her mum had agreed on letting her get new clothing, using the excuse of her "outstanding grades" to pacify Seth Granger, she had decided that her old clothes had to go. If she was going to stick to her decision of changing, then she was going to do it right. Although, Hermione couldn't seem to part with four pairs of jeans that were her favorite, or a black sweatshirt that her father had bought for her the year before. Some shirts were also salvaged, but the rest was bagged and sent off to Salvation Army.

"Hey Mum, when are we going shopping?" A curly brown head appeared around the corner from the kitchen, and Jane jumped and looked up quickly. She shuffled the papers before her and cleared her throat. Hermione noticed that her quick smile looked strained. "After you eat, Hermione." Jane returned to her newspaper. Grumbling, Hermione snagged a piece of toast and munched on it as she plopped down in a chair.

"Mum, I just wanted to tell you now, that I've cleaned out my closet, and this is a total re-vamp of my clothing," Hermione started rather timidly. Jane looked up again and smiled at her only daughter. "I trust your judgment, honey. And I think that its best you do this by yourself; I'll give you money and drop you off. I'd rather not see what you're buying until it's too late." The two shared a laugh as Jane dug into her purse, although her Mum's seemed rather forced.

"Okay mum." Hermione held out her hand for the money, and when her mum handed some to her she quickly counted through it before shoving it into the pocket of her jeans. Hermione hid a grin with a mouthful of toast. More than enough for what she wanted.

"I'm going to drop you off at the strip mall and you can call me when you're done."

"O-okay, I guess." Hermione thought that it was rather odd her mum was letting her go by herself, but shrugged the thought away. "I'll probably be getting clothes, some beauty products, maybe some new shampoo and some artist supplies," Hermione informed her mum as she washed down the toast with some apple juice.

"All right," Jane replied distantly as they cleared the table and Hermione grabbed a jacket.

"Mya, I brought your trunk upstairs, try not to leave it at the foot of the stairs."

"Okay mum, sorry." They climbed into the car and turned out of the driveway towards a mall that would be crawling with teenagers by noon. I best get a move on when I get there, Hermione reminded herself. She watched the scenery flash by and started pondering the new clothes that she should buy. Probably not a specific style, she decided. She'd just walk into some stores and get whatever she thought looked nice.

Soon her mother was waving good-bye and Hermione was standing at the side entrance into the three-story shopping mall. "Well, here goes nothing," Hermione said to herself and resolutely pushed through the double glass doors.

A/N Okay, tell me….was it horrible? Fabuloso? I don't know, I like to pretend its awesome…and I'm a review whore so tell me what you thought. Spankies.

Cianyde


	2. Chapter II

**Title: **Filter Effect

**Summary: **In order to change the outsides of something you don't like, you have to change the insides, Hermione realized with a start.

**Rating:** M

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Author's Notes: **Thanks **so much** to the anonymous reviewer that told me that she liked it a lot. To assuage your worries, Hermione is going to _stay_ Hermione. Harry and Ron _are_ out of character but I needed them to be catalysts. I kind of have a vague idea of where this is going…but not really. Oh…I also see that I got 58 hits…please, be nice, and review so I know that I'm not talking to a bloody wall! Thanks again to those who did, this chapter is for you! Onward and forth with the Hermione ranting!

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Part One:

A blast of heat to the face was Hermione's first impression. After passing through the double doors into the interior of the mall, she looked at the lines of shops and listened to the high-pitched giggles of girls her age with some slight distaste, but resolutely started forward. Pressing a hand to her back pocket, she checked that the money was still with her, and receiving a negative of pick pocketing, wandered down the first line of shops, glancing through the windows as she passed.

There didn't seem to be many clothing stores in this section, but Hermione still walked along, hoping to catch a window with some clothes on display. She was in luck, because to her left and up two stores, she could see jeans and what looked like a designer shirt on a mannequin. Without glancing at the name of the store, she headed inside.

Not exactly what she had in mind, Hermione realized a second too late. (A/N Think Hollister, for all ya'll Americans.) She took in the racks of torn jeans, white shirts emblazoned with the name of the store, and the beached blonde appearance of the employees with a raised eyebrow. A few long minutes passed as she wandered around the store, trying to imagine herself walking around in these kinds of clothes, but it didn't work. Meaning, she couldn't imagine herself in those clothes. All right, then, time to hightail it the hell out of there.

'Perhaps I should rethink exactly what I am going to be looking for today…' Hermione flopped onto a nearby bench just outside the shop and shoved a hand through the coarse curls that hung nearly to her hips. 'Well, if what I just saw isn't what I'm planning on looking like, then maybe I'll look for the opposite.' Hermione had no desire to be a walking billboard for a muggle store when she'd be spending the majority of her time in the Wizarding world. Do use your common sense.

Glancing up from her seated position, Hermione was just gearing up to stand when she caught sight of something most mothers would be shielding their children from. She watched the girl walk towards her, absorbing the thick ebony hair, and the harsh black shadow around what appeared to be dark green eyes. Hermione's gaze slowly slid from dark eyes to the figure's neck, falling in love with the ornate gothic looking black and red choker encircling her pale neck. A large transparent amethyst colored stone was dangling in the hollow of her throat, and Hermione watched the fluorescent lights glint across its many faces.

The girl was perhaps twenty feet away from where Hermione sat when she stopped to talk with someone. Given the opportunity to observe more closely, Hermione seized the chance and followed the dangling stone to the top that the girl wore. It was low cut, Hermione noticed, and was tighter than Hermione would ever dare to wear. She wore it well, Hermione acknowledged, following the gray ribbon that laced up in a criss-cross pattern from the hem of the shirt to the bottom of the chest with slightly wide eyes. Hermione supposed that she could consider this corset styled, although it wasn't exactly a corset at all. The girl turned and Hermione felt a grin tugging at her lips when she saw that the shirt laced up the sides too, although there was no black fabric beneath the ribbons and the figure's pale skin peeked out.

There was chunk of bare midriff, and then a shiny triple-row stud belt that would around the girl's slim hips. It couldn't be there for more than decoration, as there was no point in using it to hold up the pair of dark blue jeans that the girl wore. They were so tight, Hermione felt like she had trouble breathing just looking at them.

Hermione had a strong sense of envy at the easy manner in which the girl pulled off her dark look. Hermione wished that someday, she would be able to exude such a quiet confidence.

The girl had finished her conversation and now breezed passed where Hermione was seated, and gave Hermione a searching look before stopping and retracing her steps to stand in front of the brunette who was quickly growing nervous. With worried eyes Hermione glanced up at the girl's face, and was slightly relieved to see that a tiny smile was tugging at her glossy red lips.

"Hermione?" The girl arched a dark eyebrow and soon her smile became full-blown when Hermione nodded hesitantly and started to stand. "I don't know if you recognize me, but we used to be neighbors." Something about the way that the girl spoke sparked a memory and suddenly Hermione was able to put a name to the face. "Jade? Jade Stephens? Is that _you_?" Hermione's mouth fell open when Jade smirked and nodded, and then she grinned from ear to ear.

"It's been _ages_! How have you been? I thought you moved?" The girls embraced for a long moment and Hermione relished feeling eleven again and jabbering happily with her best friend.

Jade nodded and cocked her head to the side. "I _did_, but I came back because mom and I loved it here so much."

Nodding along with Jade, Hermione made a small gesture towards the other girl's body. "I love what you've done with yourself," she admitted rather breathlessly. Jade glanced over Hermione's shoulder before she glanced back at her face and a small smile blossomed on her lips. "Really," she said slowly. "I never would have thought Hermione Granger liked things out of the ordinary."

Hermione fought off a snicker as she realized how close to the truth Jade had come. "Oh, you know," she said vaguely. "Grew up and all that." After some thought Hermione made a face. "Looking to change, too. Some bloody arseholes at school decided they'd make be feel like utter shit. After that, it became clear that I was a frigid bitch, needed some soul searching, and bam," Hermione slapped her hands together, "here I am."

Jade's smile grew and both her eyebrows elevated as Hermione continued to talk. "Walked into that store over there," she motioned over her shoulder, "And decided that it wasn't what I was looking for. Decided to go opposite, actually…and then you showed up. Great timing."

Rubbing her chin, Jade scanned Hermione's form before grabbing her hand. "Look. Let's be friends again, okay? You still live in the same place?" At Hermione's nod, Jade proceeded to drag the girl behind her. "If you're looking to change to the opposite side of the spectrum, maybe I should help." Jade stopped and released Hermione. "If you'll let me, of course," she said rather hesitantly.

Hermione seemed to ponder that as she absently rubbed at her wrist. "Well, it'll be such a nice change…do you think I could pull that look off?" she asked rather anxiously. Jade thought a moment, and realized the question had a double meaning, and it seemed to get her slightly exasperated. "You _know_ you could, but there's more to the attitude than just _looking_ like this." Jade motioned to her face and clothes. "You got to _believe_ that you're the shit." She struck a pose for emphasis and Hermione chuckled. _This_ was the Jade she remembered. She stopped laughing abruptly when Jade suddenly grabbed her face between her hands.

"You've got great features, you know. High cheekbones. Dark eyelashes, nice pale skin…" Jade peered into her eyes. "And the most amazing dark blue eyes." A blush took hold of Hermione's cheeks and she pried her head loose from Jade's fingers. "So will you help me with all this?" she questioned hopefully, knowing full well that Jade knew she didn't just mean clothes.

After a long moment, Jade nodded, and Hermione sighed with relief. "Yeah. Since you're with me, no one will bitch on you for coming into our territory." Grinning a rather wolfish smile, Jade grabbed a hold of Hermione's hand and then proceeded along the path she had been traveling a mere ten minutes before. Hermione followed, falling easily into step with her old friend as they talked and laughed together, feeling as though they had never missed a beat.

"Its good to see you, after so long," Hermione said after a lull in conversation. Jade had lead them to the second floor, and they were walking along a line of shops that seemed to be mirroring, in increasing degrees, what Jade looked like. Some of the passerby continued to give Hermione long looks, glances that were making her feel increasingly out of place among the harsher-looking teenagers. She took some comfort in that Jade, who many of them seemed to know, was walking along side her and was still engaged in conversation with her.

"Jade, where are we going?"

"Patience Mia," Jade admonished, pulling out the familiar nickname from days of old.

"Whatever, Jay," Hermione grumbled, pretending to pout.

"How extreme did you envision when you…searched your soul, or whatever?" Jade asked with a small frown. "The works," Hermione replied. "Something to calm this brillow pad I like to call my hair," she tugged at a guilty lock of hair with a scrunched up nose, "because it really needs some help. And maybe-–" Hermione was interrupted by Jade's hand on her shoulder, steering her into a store that seemed to sell beauty products.

"Actually, you would look really weird with straight hair," Jade told her matter-of-factly. "I think that maybe a shampoo that is designed for curly hair, and probably some anti-frizz spray…" Jade trailed off as she scanned the shelves, Hermione trailing behind and chewing on one nail. "Aha. Maybe this will help." Jade shoved a green bottle of shampoo into a startled Hermione's hands and hurried down the next isle, Hermione trying to read the label and follow her enthused friend at the same time.

"Designed for curly hair, blah blah blah…. Separates and defines…uh, I guess this will work. So I just wash my hair with it?"

Hermione received a sour look in response and quickly looked back down at the bottle. "Okay, calm down…"

Jade chose to ignore the petulant teenager and started talking to herself. "Anti-frizz…probably some mousse too, or maybe light gel…hairspray?" She glanced back at Hermione, who was chewing her nail again. "No…she's got enough hair…hmmn…" Giving a triumphant sound she retrieved a small rounded bottle of what she called 'anti-frizz'. Hermione scanned the directions. "Spray into damp hair and style normally. Sounds easy enough. Hey Jade – hey, come back!" Hermione chased down the teen over in the next isle, scanning bottles of what she called 'curl defining spray'. Hermione was dubious to whether it was actually the name, but she didn't say anything.

Soon the two exited the store, after Hermione paid for two new bottles of shampoo, conditioner, because her hair was 'dead and needed repair,' or _something_, the curl-defining spray and a number of other similar items.

"Okay Jade…time for clothes. And I really need your help." Jade looked back at the slightly panicking teenager. "Calm down Mia. I've a good eye for what looks nice on people. But first things first: how extreme do you want to go?"

Hermione gave the matter some serious thought as they walked. "Probably similar to you. But I'd really like some leather pants," Jade snickered but Hermione ignored it, "a corset…I don't know, anything really strange that will tell people, I don't give a shit what you think. Leave me alone."

Jade gave a small smile. "Leave me alone, I think I know that style well. All right then, Mia, lets get cracking."

The two girls reached a store that seemed to be lit with a dark purple light. The door was open, and loud melodic music blared from the interior, and heavy metallic guitar notes ripped through the air. Racks upon racks of what Hermione could see was black clothing of many assorted styles, several that had chains already attached. An eyebrow involuntarily arched on Hermione's face as she spied the display case. "Huh. Garters. Cool." She was rudely dragged from her observation by Jade, who decided at that moment to rip her arm out of the socket and force her into the store, where, oddly, the walls were vibrating with the downbeat of the song.

"In you go, girlie."

A/N Errrgh, this is NOT turning out the way I planned it. Oh well…my fingers have a mind of their own, and might as well let the story run wild and do what it wants…**I am in HUGE need of a BETA READER! Send me a review with your email address if you're interested. **By the way, Jade's importance to Hermione will be explained sooner or later…I couldn't have Hermione walk into a store like that by herself, could I? Jade is just her ticket into the scene….Jade doesn't mind though, I asked her first. And, as always…review or I'll toss my computer into a river.

Cianyde


	3. Chapter III

**Title: **Filter Effect

**Summary: **In order to change the outsides of something you don't like, you have to change the insides, Hermione realized with a start.

**Rating:** M

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Author's Notes: **Are you people honestly AFRAID to give me some feedback? Seriously, I've gotten like two reviews…but at least I know that I'm not talking to myself…oh yes…**go back and read the Author's Note at the bottom of chapter II.**I replaced the content because I forgot to add some things I wanted to say. You don't have to reread the entire chapter…I just fixed some minor grammar mistakes, nothing that alters what you've already read dramatically. Another thing I keep forgetting…disregard the events of HBP. I don't like it, so we are pretending it never happened. Cool?

**IronFistShadyGurl: **Its great to get a signed review. Thanks, I like it too…but I felt like I sprung it on you guys that she was going to end up with a gothic-inspired sense of taste. I tried to foreshadow that she would end up going that way (the appearance of Jade…running out of that Hollister-wannabe store…)…but I'm hopeless at literary devices so it was probably just like –slap in face- Hermione is going to look like a freak! But yeah. Thanks.

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Part One:

With an ungainly stumble, an unprepared Hermione fell bodily into the dimly lit store with a small squeal, nearly managing to take down Jade as she landed in an ungraceful heap near a rack of shoes. Rising slowly to a sitting position and flushing brightly, Hermione pointedly ignored Jade's traitorous snickers as she struggled to right her hopelessly twisted shirt.

"Stupid Jade," she muttered darkly in mock anger, finally succeeding in getting her shirt to lay flat. Now she was fighting, and loosing, a battle with trying to calming her wild hair. "Stupid hair." She attempted to glare upward at her locks but failed miserably, and instead shifted her attention to the display rack she had nearly toppled over when she, quite literally, dropped in.

"Hey Jade?" Hermione called over the thumping music, pulling herself upright and examining a pair of spiky three inch black heels. She noticed that once inside, the music wasn't all that loud. She could easily talk normally and be heard.

Jade turned from her conversation with the person behind the register, a tall, thin girl with long shocking pink hair and two silver lip rings. "Can you _pleeeease _come over here and assist your confused and _very_ out of place friend?" Hermione pleaded with a helpless expression. Jade fought off a smile and turned to say a few sentences to the clerk, who nodded in response and said something with a smile before Jade sighed good-naturedly and wound through the racks of clothing in order to stand beside a smirking Hermione.

"Who's the girl with the pink hair?" Hermione absently inquired over her shoulder as she bent to pick up one of the black heels, eyeing it and slowly turning it over to check the size. "Sweet, it's my size."

"Erika," Jade replied, scanning the display of assorted styles of women's shoes. "She's a friend of mine who co-owns this store with her brother. He's off right now." Hermione plucked up the matching heel as Jade watched with raised eyebrows and dangled the pair from her index finger, holding them in front of Jade's face to get her opinion. "I'll give you some inches, I'll tell you that," Jade commented dryly as Hermione beamed. That was all the 'they'll look good on you' she would ever get from _that_ girl.

"Get the purple ballet shoes with the ribbons," Jade told her, pointing, and Hermione obediently leaned across the display and picked one up. Holding up one of the long ribbons with a free finger, Hermione arched her eyebrows. "What, do they lace up your legs?" At Jade's exasperated nod, Hermione replaced the shoe in favor of rummaging through the many boxes beneath the shelf the shoes were displayed on. "Six," she muttered to herself. "I need a six." Finally she managed to slide a box out from the bottom without toppling the entire pile and peeked inside. She closed the lid after making sure the right kind were inside the box, and moved to walk away but Jade grabbed her arm.

"Mia, this is the best store like this in the mall. If you seriously want my help," Jade ran quick fingers through her shoulder length hair, "we'll be staying here. Not to mention, Erika will give us a discount." Hermione shrugged and made a noise of acquiescence, so Jade nudged her towards the counter.

"Erika, can we put all our stuff up here instead of carrying it around?" Erika nodded and gave Hermione, who was standing off to one side, a small smile. "You'll look great in this stuff," She informed her with a sweeping motion to all the racks of clothes. Hermione followed the gesture and an uncertain smile graced her lips. "You think so?" Erika smiled again, for real, and instead said, "If you like those heels," jerking her chin towards the black shoes on top of the shoe box, "We have similar styles in the back if you'd like to see them."

With an enthusiastic nod Hermione agreed, but Jade pulled her away when a male customer came in to inquire on bondage belts. Soon Erika was waving to Hermione and rummaging under the counter for some keys.

"Okay Mia. We can look at shoes later. But personally, I recommend that if you're going to be wearing two and three inch heels like _that_," Jade was still pulling her towards a long rack of pants, "then you'll want to wear pants with them."

"But why?" Hermione pulled out from the rack a pair of medium-blue skinny jeans. She peeked at the size, frowned, and put them back.

"Because you don't want to look like a whore, do you?" Jade pulled out the pants that Hermione had returned and glanced at the tag. "These are only a five, Hermione. If you _really _want to wear this kind of stuff," Jade brandished the pants around, and Hermione ducked to avoid getting hit in the face with a pant leg. "You can't wear them like your style now. They have to be…" Jade searched for an appropriate word as she hung the pants over her arm. "_Form fitting_."

Hermione fingered another pair of dark blue jeans as she silently argued with herself. She wasn't exactly _comfortable_ with wearing clothes that showed everyone what she owned…but maybe it was time to relax a little and not be afraid. Hermione glanced over at the clerk, who was still showing some belts to the customer. Erika had said she would look good…she wouldn't lie, would she? Erika didn't even _know _Hermione, so she must be telling the truth.

Rubbing her forehead, Hermione pulled another piece of clothing from the rack. They were a pair of small black shorts. Hermione almost put them back, but then, 'Why should I? Why am I so _worried_ about what _everyone else_ thinks? Why does it _matter_? They don't know me. They don't even come _close _to knowing me.' Hermione held on to them.

Jade nodded at her, a pleased expression on her face. Hermione grinned back. "I'm for real with this, Jade." She told her friend slowly. "No more worrying about what other people think, no more caring. I'm just going to do what I want...what _feels_ right to me." Hermione took the pants from Jade. "And this…it just feels right."

Another pair of dark blue skinny jeans were draped over Jade's arm, as well as a faded pair over Hermione's, along side the black shorts, when Jade took them from Hermione to deposit them next to the shoes on the counter. Hermione wandered over to a rack where shirts hung and searched slowly through them, picking anything out that caught her eye. A long black tank top and a gray long-sleeved sweater shirt with a plunging neckline were draped over her arm when she saw what she had really been looking for: a black corset. With a squeal Hermione pulled it off the hanger and held it up to her torso, just as Jade was returning.

"Awesome," Jade said with an approving grin. The corset laced up in a wide criss-cross pattern all along the front with thin dark green ribbons. Hermione pulled it away from her body to look at the back; the pattern was repeated on the reverse side, but Hermione could see that there was no fabric beneath the laces. The middle part of her back would show in a long strip about three inches wide. Hermione smiled and held it up to her body again, measuring where it would end. About an inch below her belly button, she approximated, tracing the wale-bone seam along the sides. It was a simple style, but Hermione thought it looked beautiful.

"You'll be a knockout with that on," Jade said with an excited expression. They looked through the rest of the tops, selecting about four more when Hermione chose to move on towards a display of belts. She chose a triple row studded belt with silver studs and a thinner double rowed one that was purple instead of the silver.

"At least you won't be wearing _all _black," Jade commented. "Your mum can't get upset at that." Hermione glanced down at the belts, biting her lip. She hadn't even _thought_ of her mom's reaction to all this. With a shrug, she forced herself to dismiss her worry. Oh, well. Once she bought the clothes, it was too late, anyway. "Let's get some more pants. I don't want to have to come back here until the end of summer and I have to go back to school."

The mention of school made Hermione think about Harry and Ron again, and she felt a rush of spite as they started examining the many pairs of pants that hung on the rack. Maybe, if she came back to school looking like she didn't give a shit _what_ they thought, they'd realize how much they were really loosing. ''Sides', Hermione thought with a mean sort of gladness, 'they won't be cribbing off me in classes anymore.' It was fairly certain that she'd end up Head Girl, and along with that and advanced Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies, Transfiguration and Potions, which neither of them were in, she'd barely get a chance to see them at all. And for that, she was _immensely_ glad of.

"How about these, Mia?" Jade was holding up a pair of absolutely _fabulous_ black leather pants. They were slung very low, and had no belt loops. Reaching out, Hermione felt the butter-smooth texture of the leather and knew it wouldn't be hard to keep them up; they would suction to her like a second skin. Good. "You know Jade…" Hermione said in a slightly drawling voice. "I'm actually a three in pants…so maybe...?" The corner of Jade's mouth curled up slightly as she caught on.

"That's my girl."

A/N Whew. All that in one go. So don't get mad at me when I have massive grammar issues and stuff. Again,** in need of a beta reader**. Review and send me your email if you are interested. This is basically a filler chapter, which is why its rather slow...but it _is_ important because now Hermione is finally gaining some confidence and belief in herself. Not to mention she's starting to not give a shit what people think…which I think suits her well. Again, review! Or I'll demolish my computer with a baseball bat.

Cianyde


	4. Chapter VI

**NOTE: This is reposted because I had to make some minor changes at the bottom. Read the author's note at the end, please.**

**Title:** Filter Effect

**Summary:** In order to change the outsides of something you don't like, you have to change the insides, Hermione realized with a start.

**Rating:** M

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Warnings: **Language.

**Author's Notes:** **Thanks so much to everyone who takes the time to read my story! This is probably going to be pretty long, because I have a lot of ideas that I want to try out…but I'm trying to be different from all the other fics that make their characters totally different…so change over time, people. It won't be epic length…I hope…and also, I am going to have Hermione want people to refer to her as "Mia". To separate herself from the "old her" is basically my reasoning, so don't get confused and then flame me. It's irritating.**

**LILHOUSELF:** Thanks. I know its not a new idea, and it is probably overused, but I've read so many shitty ones that I just had the urge to write one and make it how I thought it should be. And I hope it's good enough. **Twitchy The Squirrel:** Actually, if you want to help me with their reactions…I have some ideas that I want to run past you guys.** Dagmara: **For some reason my email wasn't working, so it took two chapters for me to receive your review. I totally understand your point, and I know that it seems like the clothing she's picking out is rather…slutty. But don't worry; I just can't see Hermione like that. I'll try, if I do incorporate a description of what she is wearing, to mediate excessive revealing and stuff. Just trust me, and tell me if I'm making her into a whore. I'll be sure to fix it.

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Part One:

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A laughing Erika helped Hermione and Jade change the sizes of the many pants that Hermione had selected, and soon a highly irritated Jade was shoving the loudly protesting Hermione towards the dressing rooms.

"Look, Mia. You can't just buy all this stuff without trying it on first! Haven't you ever gone shopping before?" Jade gave another hefty shove to the brunette, who was digging her heels into the floor.

"But Jay! I don't see why I have to!"

Hermione was forcefully whipped around and she cautiously looked up to see a flushed Jade glowering dangerously at her. "Try. On. The. Fucking. Clothes."

Hermione ducked her head and stalked towards the dressing rooms, glaring at the floor. "Okay, holy shit, I get it. I'm trying on the clothes, relax." She yanked open the door and angrily dumped the pile of clothes in her arms on the shelf to her right. After grumbling a stream of colorful curses and running her hand through her hair to push it out of her face, Hermione pulled off her shoes and shucked her jeans and shirt, tossing them to the side and staring contemplatively at the large pile of clothes she was supposed to "try on". With an exasperated sigh, she shut her eyes, and reached out to grab the first thing her hand came into contact with, which happened to be a pair of light blue jeans.

After more cursing, nearly falling over and crashing into the floor length mirror on the wall, coupled with some very interesting hip and leg movements, Hermione managed to tug the tight jeans up her legs. Once they were on sufficiently, she melodramatically sucked in her stomach and held her breath as her nimble fingers quickly zipped up the pants and buttoned them. After pulling the pant legs down slightly, because the bunching up at her knees was sure to drive her insane, she repeated the process of closing her eyes and selecting another piece of clothing.

Hermione obviously couldn't wear two pairs of pants at a time, so she just haphazardly pulled on the black tank top when both attempts came up with bottoms. "Hey Jade?" Hermione called, opening up the door a crack to peek out. "Can I borrow a hair band?" Jade's hand pushed through the opening and Hermione took the black tie with a mumbled 'thank you'.

Quickly gathering her hair up into a high ponytail at the crown of her head, Hermione wrapped the hair tie around it securely and combed her fingers through the long curls that hung down.

When her hair was away from her face, Hermione could look at her reflection without grimacing at the bird's nest she saw her tangle of locks as. Quickly sweeping her thick fringe of bangs to the side, Hermione took a deep breath and turned to face the mirror.

Hermione let out her breath with an audible whoosh and gaped at her reflection. She looked…really good, she thought with a large surge of pride. Playing all that soccer during the summers with her friends strengthened and lengthened the long muscles in her thighs and calves, so her five four frame managed to look like had legs for miles. The straight cut of the jeans accentuated the gentle swell of her hips, and for the first time Hermione was thankful for her curves, because she could see that without them, she would end up looking like a stick.

Turning to the side, the girl scrutinized her profile with rising confidence. The slightly loose tank top effectively balanced out the tightness of the jeans, and Hermione noticed that the…_modest_ bust her body had actually didn't look half-bad. Maybe, for once, Hermione could be not only comfortable, but _confident_ in a style she wore.

"The jeans will fit fine, and so will the tank tops," Hermione called over the partition to the waiting Jade.

"Try on the leather pants or the corset then," Jade's voice called back.

Hermione pulled the tank top off over her head and dropped it unceremoniously on the floor, and repeated the process in reverse order of working her way out of the jeans. This time it was slightly easier, and didn't seem to require quite as much colorful language, although Hermione was forced to hop around for a second to gain her balance after she almost tripped on one of the pant legs. _That_ was eventful and highly embarrassing, even if she was the only one who saw it.

A repeat performance of the melodramatic cursing, and Hermione was standing in front of the mirror with a brilliant smile on her face. "I fucking love these pants," she said out loud as one hand ran along the smooth leather covering her thigh. After a test walk around the dressing stall, Hermione was convinced that she could probably sleep in them, they were that damn comfortable. Like a second skin, they moved with her with the softest whisper of the fabric rubbing together as she walked.

Hermione faced the mirror again, further examining the style of the pants that she wore. They were slim-fitting, making her thighs look sleek and toned, and the leather snuggly hugged the curves of her legs, smoothing tightly over her knees and flaring just slightly around her calves. They were slightly too long, about half an inch, so she could easily wear heels with then and not look like she got dressed in the dark.

Satisfied, a beaming Hermione gathered up the clothes on the floor. Replacing the hangers and folding the clothes she had arrived in, Hermione emerged from the dressing room and stepped into the store. The only people inside were Jade and herself, and Hermione stared around blankly, looking for Erika.

Jade was swiftly by her side, a smile curving the glossy red of her lips. "Those pants are amazing, Mia. Keep them on." Hermione glanced down at her bare feet before realizing she left her shoes back in the dressing room. "Where's Erika?" Hermione called over her shoulder to Jade as she returned to retrieve the converse.

"In the back, getting more heels and junk for you to look at. Lucky for you, most of them have size sixes."

Hermione reappeared by Jade's side and said, "I didn't try on the corset but I'm sure it will fit fine." Jade glanced down at Hermione's unexposed stomach and nodded briefly. "You're slender like me, and I have one similar to that." The ebony youth motioned for Hermione to turn, and the brunette did so, smiling slightly.

"We have nearly the exact same body shape, Mia. I'm almost an inch taller, but we could still manage to swap some clothes." Nodding enthusiastically, Hermione moved again towards the rack of pants. Skimming over the hangers, she pulled out two more pairs of medium blue three jeans to add to the growing pile that she had set on the register.

"Mia, c'mere." Hermione turned from the counter and followed the sound of Jade's voice to see that she was holding aloft another pair of leather pants, a triumphant smile lighting up her face. Holding out one of the legs, Hermione noticed that they laced up the side, the crosses of the leather strings about an inch wide. "These are kickass, Mia," Jade exclaimed, running her finger over the metallic black fabric. "I saw a three just like these." She motioned with her chin towards the rack and Hermione pulled them out after a long moment of searching through the hangers.

"They're slightly different," Hermione said slowly, checking the size on the pants, just in case. "The strings are dark green and the laces don't stop around the waist. Meaning my underwear would show." Hermione blushed as Jade waggled her eyebrows suggestively. Hermione glanced back down at the pants in her hands and looked back up to see Jade eyeing her.

"We need to get you some new underwear, don't we?" She asked with a faint smile, her eyebrows still elevated. Hermione opened her mouth to protest as her flush turned a dark shade of pink, but after a moment she shrugged instead, knowing that resistance was futile. "I guess…" It's not like she had to actually _wear_ them, Hermione acknowledged briefly to herself.

"We can go after," Jade said to Hermione as she looked back over her shoulder to the other side of the store they hadn't looked at yet. Now that Hermione had seven new pairs of jeans, the two leather pants and a corset, along with the five tank tops and three simple black shirts, there really wasn't a need to overload her with more clothes. They'd be buying the whole damn store if they did that, and she still had some clothing back at home.

Plus, Jade had let it slip that she knew how to sew. A squealing Hermione had forced her into promising to teach her how to sew, and Jade had given in after being repeatedly pelted with tubes of strawberry lip-gloss.

Part Two:

A/N Okay, I got tired of writing out descriptions of clothing. So, bear with me, and pretend that Hermione paid for a bunch of new clothes, shoes, all manner of gothic-paraphernalia. Which includes jewelry. She went home, her mum flipped for a few days until she finally gave in and did the whole 'I love you no matter what you look like' and now all is well. It's three weeks into hols, and Hermione is a full-fledged best friend of Jade, who has finally managed to convince her to wear make-up.

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Hermione held up a case of dark violet eye shadow. "Jade, what do you think?" The green-eyed girl in question looked up from her examination of liquid eyeliner and glanced toward the cosmetic Hermione held in her hand. She nodded. "Purple, maybe some emerald green…" She leaned closer to study the shade of Hermione's eyes and sneered when the girl leaned back slightly to keep space between them.

"With that dark shade of blue, Mia, you should probably go with some brick red," she tossed a single case of dark red at Hermione, who caught it and glanced down at it, "Probably these colors of green," She pointed to a dark emerald, a dark metallic olive and a light grass green, "And whatever else that you want." Hermione rolled her eyes as Jade turned and went back to muttering to herself about the ridiculous prices of eyeliner.

Absently scratching the back of her head, Hermione scanned the lines of various shades of eye shadow after she picked up the colors that Jade pointed out. She ambled down the isle, picking out colors that caught her eye. Bright pink, check. Robin's egg blue, navy, silver, check. After picking up an assorted case of earth browns and then another with several shades of orange, she turned to tell Jade she was going to the next row but saw that Jade had disappeared. Shrugging, Hermione walked on.

Walking over to stand beside Jade in the next row over, Hermione reached out to take a long stick of black eyeliner and a sharpener. "Buy two sticks at a time, right?" Jade grunted, and Hermione took that to be a 'yes' so she grabbed another one before moving on to the section dedicated to colored eye pencils. After several minutes of rubbing her chin, Hermione finally decided to get dark charcoal gray, blood red and dark purple ones before turning to her still muttering companion. "Which mascara?" Hermione inquired, tilting her head towards the many packages that hung on display. Jade picked one out after scanning the labels and tossed it to Hermione, and Hermione caught it and looked down to read the description. 'Lengthening and volume building. Sounds good enough to me.' She looked up to see Jade picking out mascara for herself.

"Okay, make-up done. Let's pay for all this crap," Hermione drawled with a teasing grimace and gestured toward the register. She let out a squeal when Jade smacked her and stared open-mouthed as her friend took of running with a whoop through the store, her black converse squeaking on the tile. "Um…" Hermione glanced down at all the things she held in her arms and thought better of chasing after the insane Jade. If she was going to buy all this, it might as well be intact _before_ she got home.

With a long-suffering sigh, Hermione followed the path that Jade had cut through the slight crowd at a much slower pace. As she passed the entrance looking for a shock of black hair, Hermione spied those baskets that you carry over your arm, and hurried over to drop all of the cosmetics she had managed to hold in her arms inside. She picked it up and let it dangle from her fingers, searching over the many heads for Jade's familiar face.

Hermione managed to find the elusive teen in the lingerie section. "Jade, what the hell are you _doing_?" demanded a blushing Hermione. Jade just grinned sardonically and held out a pair of skimpy black underwear. "You're a size five in these, honey." When Hermione refused to take them, Jade sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"Look, Mia. I don't want to change you. You've got the personality, and you already act like you belong in those clothes." Jade motioned to the black shirt with three slashes across the front and dark blue jeans that Hermione sported. "Didn't you say that if the inside was going to change, the outside might as well go along for the ride?"

Hermione had given Jade an edited version of what happened on the train, and the basics of her soul searching. Now, she regretted it. "I don't feel _comfortable_ in stuff like that!" Hermione insisted as she clutched the basket to chest. Jade rolled her eyes. "You don't know until you _try_ it!"

Hermione chewed on her lip. She had the sneaking suspicion that Jade was right, and angrily snatched the underwear from a now smiling Jade. "Fine," she hissed, glancing around. "I'll try it out."

"Good girl."

Hermione rolled her eyes and stared hard at Jade before glancing down at what she held in her hand and snorting. "A thong…Jade, why a _thong_?"

Laughter followed her question as the two walked toward the registers, still bantering.

A/N Sorry I had to cut it short here, but I need to go to sleep and I knew that if I didn't finish it now, I'd forget what I was going to write. Thanks again to those who reviewed, and I hope this chapter is good enough! Lord knows its long enough…also…I need some ideas on what the rest of the Dream Team's reactions are going to be. Review and tell me what you think should happen. Review, as always…or I'll find something interesting to demolish my computer with. Maybe play with a magnet on my hard drive.


	5. Chapter V

**Title: **Filter Effect

**Summary: **In order to change the outsides of something you don't like, you have to change the insides, Hermione realized with a start.

**Rating:** M

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Author's Notes: **There's no excuse. I suck.

**Little-Miss-Rachael: **Thanks so much! I love those pants too, I wish they existed…heh, and I was worried that I was describing too much and making it seem like a Mary Sue story…thanks for the ego stroke! **Feilyn: **As you probably know already, I accept your offer. And that means you can leave your own notes, but make sure you label it as a **beta note**. Again, thanks for the confidence boost. This fic originally wasn't what I had planned, but it's coming together wonderfully. **Fairy-Tales123:** A lot of people seem to really like the thong part…hahaha I wasn't sure how it would go over, but when you have leather pants that lace up **all the way up your legs**, you can't exactly wear shapeless granny panties, can you?

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Part One:

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Early morning sunlight fought to pierce the heavy blinds that Hermione Granger kept down over her windows. Thin shafts of the bright light managed to sneak through the cracks and shine across her exposed face, and soon the teenager was burrowing deeper under the dark charcoal comforter and mumbling incoherent curses under her breath.

It was really no use, because now she was up. With a heavy sigh Hermione threw back the covers, and spent some time muttering and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Dragging herself up from the mattress, she staggered to her bathroom and flicked on the light, screwing up her eyes against the harsh glow.

Soon she started the shower, and was pulling off her sleeping attire and stepping into the spray. After standing under the nozzle and adjusting the heat to just below scalding, she turned her back to the showerhead to fully soak her curls and reached for her shampoo. After thoroughly scrubbing her hair with the white lather, she rinsed out her curls and repeated with step two: curl-defining conditioner. Lather. Rinse. Repeat as desired.

After washing with vanilla and jasmine scented body wash and shaving the necessary appendages, Hermione shut off the shower and pulled back the shower curtain, groping blindly for a towel and trying to see through the hair in her face. Grabbing the first towel-like article, Hermione rubbed her face free of water as she stepped onto a towel placed on the floor.

Toweling her hair for a moment, she gave up on that for the time being and simply let it hang down her back as she caught the water droplets sliding down her slick skin. Soon she was dry, and was rubbing at her hair more effectively. After discarding the towel and rummaging in the medicine cabinet, Hermione managed to find her anti-frizz and sprayed it liberally into her damp hair while combing her fingers through the strands to separate them.

Satisfied that her head wouldn't look like a mushroom once her hair dried, Hermione quickly exited the bathroom to sift through the many clothes that draped across her desk chair and lay strewn across her dresser, and littered the floor.

The stuffy and organized-to-the-point-of-anal girl she had been had long since exited the building. In her place was a _much_ more relaxed and pliant Hermione, willing to drop her clothes on the floor and leave them there, because it didn't really matter. Sure, she still cared about her grades, but the stick up her arse had obviously been removed.

'After all, pick your battles,' Hermione thought wryly, as she pushed aside a pile of shirts in search of some jeans. Seeing a pant leg sticking out from beneath the pile she had just moved, Hermione yanked them free and tossed them on her bed. She turned to her dresser and pulled open the first drawer to retrieve a black bra and, quite shockingly, a black thong. It seemed that Jade had won that particular battle, but Hermione, as usual, had her justifications.

It was much easier to be able to pull on a pair of skintight pants and not worry about her knickers bunching was one excuse she managed to unearth. Others were variations of that particular reason, but the one that Hermione didn't tell anyone who asked (although, who would _ask?) _was that because they made her feel _sexy_. She felt it was long due anyway, being seventeen and all.

Hermione pulled on the necessary undergarments and followed that with the charcoal gray jeans. She slipped the triple-rowed stud belt through the loops and buckled it closed. Looking at herself in the mirror, even Hermione had to admit that the pants looked _much_ better when there was no unsightly underwear line digging into the skin of her arse.

Pulling on a tight black tank top, Hermione smoothed out the wrinkles with a slightly fussy hand as she looked around for a dark blue one to wear over it. Finding what she was looking for, she tugged the looser article of clothing over her head and arranged it to her satisfaction over the black. Another drawer was opened, and then a pile of clothes kicked aside, before Hermione found her brush. After spraying the bristles with relaxer, she quickly ran the brush through her hair a couple times before scrunching the ends tightly with her fingers.

Her quickly drying hair no longer looked like a brillow pad, and for that, Hermione couldn't be more proud. Falling to her middle back were medium-sized glossy chocolate brown ringlets, and Hermione just _loved _to brag that they never fell flat. Probably had something to do with the fact that her hair was naturally curly to begin with, even if those curls looked unappealing by themselves.

After smoothing a dime-sized glob of mousse through the hair and parting it down the middle, Hermione quickly swiped some translucent powder over her face to even out her slightly reddened skin tone. A dab of concealer on her cheekbones to tone down the freckles and another swipe of powder over that and Hermione was searching for her eyeliner.

After several inventive curses and about three minutes, Hermione found the elusive black pencil. Drawing a thin line of black over her top lid and then a thick line along her bottom lash line, she extended the bottom line slightly beyond the crease. Hermione then repeated this on her other eye and then pushed some parchment around on her desk, looking for some eye shadow.

The first color discovered was dark metallic purple, so she swiped a thin line of that along her bottom lash line. Putting the container aside, Hermione coated her eyelashes with two coats of mascara and she was done.

Quickly screwing the cap back on the tube of black mascara, Hermione tossed it somewhere on her desk and reached for her cell phone. After some difficulty in trying to shove her cell phone into her front pocket, she finally gave up and stuck it in a back pocket instead, hoping that it wouldn't fall out, _again_.

Pushing her feet into a pair of scarlet ballet shoes, Hermione carefully stepped around the piles of books and clothes on her floor before making it into the hallway. Closing her bedroom door behind her, Hermione skipped down the hallway and slid down the stairway banister. Passing through her living room to the kitchen, she popped some toast into the toaster and poured herself a glass of juice. She was just getting a knife from the drawer and turning to get the butter when her phone rang.

"Hello?" Hermione said, balancing the phone on her shoulder and putting the container of juice back into the refrigerator. Jade's voice sounded excitedly in her ear.

"Wow Mia, you're up."

"Yeah," the distracted girl deadpanned, reaching for the butter container and nearly dropping the phone. She stifled a curse. "What's up?"

"Not much, really," was Jade's reply. "I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out today."

"When do I _not_ want to?" Hermione was buttering her now toasted bread. "What's the catch? You never ask. You just assume."

Jade seemed to ignore that last bit, because she instead said, "I want you to meet some friends of mine. And knowing how you are, I want you to be _nice_ to them."

Hermione was affronted. "What makes you think I wouldn't be nice?" She bit into her toast and chewed loudly into Jade's ear.

"That is so gross, Mia. Stop it. Just promise you'll be nice." Jade sounded like she was begging, and Hermione tried not to giggle and get bits of toast all over the counter.

"Yeah, whatever," she said through a mouthful of wheat product.

"I'll come over when I'm done getting ready. Okay?"

Hermione 'mmhmmed' and hung up the phone after hearing Jade's click.

A/N Oh, I KNOW this is so short….it's half of what you usually get…but it's been SO LONG since I updated…and I thought it might be nice for you to get like, a filler chapter or something, so you don't think I dropped of the surface of the earth and died. You know you love me! Now review or I will set my computer on fire.

Cianyde


	6. Chapter IV

**Title: **Filter Effect

**Summary: **In order to change the outsides of something you don't like, you have to change the insides, Hermione realized with a start.

**Rating:** M

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Author's Notes: **Yes. I did drop off the face of the earth. I know it's been months since I updated. I know I know I know. But I finally got my ass in gear with this story, even if I am going through an emotional hiatus right now. Blame my ex boyfriend. And life, and school, and parents, and writers block. But I'm back, baby! Ready to wow you with this filth spewing forth from my fingertips.

**Hesper426: **My oh so wonderful fantabulous devoted reader! I absolutely love long reviews. Especially YOUR reviews…**Ebbe04**: I hope this chapter is long enough for you! **Ze BLEH (also the anonymous reviewer)** I try to update sooner…BUT IT DOESN'T WORK! Love your name, though. **And my lovely Feilyn**: I'm glad that there wasn't anything particularly…awful…in the last chapter.

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Part One:

Oh, how Hermione loved toast. Even more, how she loved eating toast uninterrupted. But it was not to be, because after Hermione had made two more slices and finished the juice carton, the doorbell rang. Thankful that there was no father to speak of (her parents had divorced in her second year) and that her mother continuously spent summer days off at dentist conventions and the like, she hurried to the door with a mouthful of bread and swung it open. As expected, there stood Jade.

"Mia, can I use your phone? Mine is being ridiculous and not working correctly." She swept in without any more preamble and started for the kitchen.

"Well. Hello to you too," Hermione yelled to her retreating back around a mouthful of food and slammed the door. All she received was a wave over Jade's left shoulder, of course. Hermione followed, munching on her food, to find Jade already jabbering on the phone about something at twelve and no, she wasn't drunk yet, Jesus. Hermione raised an eyebrow at that one and glanced at the clock. Nine fifteen. Christ, she was up at this ungodly hour? What was _wrong_ with her?

Jade soon hung up the phone and fixed Hermione with a beady stare, reminding her vaguely of Professor McGonnagal.

"What?" Hermione blinked several times, finishing the toast that she was chewing on and brushing her hands off.

"You are meeting a few of my friends today. I consider them best friends, besides you." Jade rummaged in the refrigerator, pulling out a bottle of chocolate milk and opening it. Taking a long swallow, she looked at Hermione, who had folded her arms and had an expression of Why-Is-This-Important on her face.

"Yeahso?" Hermione replied, examining her nails with a feigned indifferent manner.

Jade exhaled loudly, tossing the chocolate milk up in the air once she recapped it. "And I want you to be nice."

"Why _wouldn't_ I be nice, though?" Hermione was genuinely curious. Jade caught the beverage and set in on the table.

"Because I don't know how much you have truly changed and I don't know how you'll react to them."

A feeling of foreshadowing washed over Hermione and chills broke out over her arms. This happened when something she completely didn't expect was about to happen- and usually it meant she wouldn't like it.

"Well, we'll find out when the time comes, I guess. Want something to eat?" Hermione ran fingers through her hair, ignoring the unsettling feeling that was starting to dissipate and instead fought off a yawn. And failed.

Jade declined the offer, and the two girls left the kitchen to relax up in Hermione's room until it was time to leave, or at least, until Jade said that it was time to leave.

Hermione settled on the floor as Jade flung herself face first into Hermione's unmade bed. Picking through a stack of CD's, she finally settled on Undertow by Tool and slid it into her stereo, turning up the volume and leaning back against the bed.

In the recent weeks, Jade had introduced Hermione to a whole array of different music; punk, rock, metal, alternative, hardcore. Hermione loved them all. Every single band had something to say, something they wanted to _change_ about the world, and Hermione couldn't help but respect someone who exposed their soul to millions of people they didn't know and probably would never meet through lyrics.

She would never have the guts to do that. At least, the old her wouldn't. This new her- maybe someday.

Slipping into an old daydream of the reactions she would receive of this new, badass devil-may-care attitude when she returned to Hogwarts, Hermione was snapped out of her reverie with a pillow to the face.

"Thanks Jade. Thanks."

"No problem," her friend sneered, pulling herself up from the bed. Hermione climbed to her feet from the floor, throwing the magazine she had been absently flipping through to the side. Picking her way to an empty space at the center of her room, she watched Jade examine her ebony hair in the mirror, pull it into a ponytail, frown and then remove the elastic and twine it into two braids.

"Are we leaving?" Hermione stretched her back, yawning again and cursing the day she had woken up so early.

"Chyeah. Since we're _walking_, anyways."

"Hey. I _like _walking." Hermione shot back, pushing Jade out of her room and swinging the door shut. Jade snickered and slid down the stairway banister, whooping loudly and landing in an ungainly crouch at the bottom. Hermione stampeded down the stairs after her, pushing her razor cell phone into her pocket once more.

"I never said there was anything wrong with walking. It just takes WAY to freaking long."

"Yeah, whatever, you lazy piece of shit."

Hermione locked the door behind them and the two girls, looking oddly out of place in front of well-kept suburban homes, stepped down to the sidewalk towards the public park roughly twenty minutes away.

"_HEY._ I am _not _a lazy piece of shit." Hermione snickered at the wounded expression on Jade's face.

"So says the person who complains about walking for twenty minutes down a street."

The banter continued back and forth as Hermione and Jade walked, their steps in sync and fingers interlaced.

And no, they were not "together". They were best friends- and comfortable enough with the fact that they could hold each other's hands and give people the wrong impression.

It was hilarious, actually, the expressions on some people's faces.

The sounds of shouting, laughing children soon became recognizable, and Hermione and Jade began to pick up their pace.

Actually, _Jade_ began to pick up the pace, Hermione clinging to her back and giggling insanely.

"Hermione, why do I always give you piggy-back rides?"

Hermione made an exaggerated smooching sound.

"Because you looouuuurrrrrvvvvee me. Oh yes."

Rolling her eyes and making no comment, Jade half skipped, half jogged over the grassy area of the large park, Hermione hanging on for dear life and giggling inanely again.

"Honestly, woman. What is that sound? It's horrid, that's what it is. You know that every time you do it, God kills a kitten? So don't do it."

Hermione made a harrumph-ing noise, but cut off her giggling and instead glanced about them. They were heading towards the are that had the lunch tables and stage, a well-known hangout place for teens of the… "darker" variety.

Hermione's stomach fluttered and her heart jumped into her throat. If Jade noticed her sudden silence, she made no comment, and continued their steady approach towards a group of four teens about their age, all dressed…somewhat similarly to Jade and Hermione, but with their own personal twist.

Was she ready to be labeled as a part of that scene?

Was she ready to be accepted?

Once you went in, you were in.

But more importantly, would they accept _her_?

Hermione swallowed, sliding off of Jade's back as they neared the four youths, three male and one female.

Two of the boys had their backs to Hermione, but she could see that one had blonde hair, the shade baby-pale light and greased into messy spikes that stuck up quite a ways. She guessed that if his hair were down, it would reach his shoulders. All she could tell was that he was wearing tight low-slung black jeans and a triple-rowed bright yellow pyramid belt. His shirt was black and simple, and since he was sitting, she had no idea how tall he was, but she _could _see that he was wearing green plaid boxers.

A small smirk stretched across her face as she and Jade ambled closer, now within ear-shot of the four's conversation. It sounded like they were bantering back and forth, much like she and Jade did whenever they opened their mouths.

The knot of anxiety increased in Hermione's stomach as she glanced over at the other seated boy to distract herself. He had black hair; so dark it shone almost blue. It wasn't nearly as long as the other boys; this one had his hair shorn off short in the back and spiked, and she could tell that the front was longer, but had no idea how long or what it looked like. He wore faded blue jeans, about as tight as the other male, but with no belt and a tighter black shirt than the blonde.

"Hey, douchebags," Jade called, skipping forward as Hermione trailed behind, momentarily distracted from her appraisal of the two boys' backs.

"Jade, you loser. Get your ass over here."

This was from the single girl in the group, and Hermione slid her eyes over in the direction of the voice. Something was vaguely familiar about that face, and Hermione assumed that she must have seen her before, and frowned in thought of where. Long hair the color of meranti hung down her back, streaked brilliant shades of purple, blue and green. Bangs curved around her face, resting across her angled cheekbones and hanging over wide eyes outlined thickly in black. Eyes the color of cognac, which appraised her for a moment before returning to Jade.

Jade bounded over to the girl, who wrestled Jade into a hug as they giggled and called each other names. The remaining boy watched them with a highly amused expression, not noticing Hermione standing a little behind the boys seated at the table and watching the two girls.

This boy had sandy brown hair that hung medium-long in slight curls over his face, neck and ears. Leaning against another table with his arms crossed over his chest and legs crossed at the ankles, Hermione quickly took in his appearance before he noticed her. He was, interestingly enough, wearing tight red plaid pants with a silver studded belt, and two black suspenders hung from belt loops behind his knees. A faded black shirt stretched over his broad shoulders emblazoned with a long faded band name that Hermione could not completely make out due to the obstruction of his arms.

Ripping her eyes from his face, Hermione glanced back at Jade and the other girl to see they were both looking at her. The girl that Hermione didn't know was smirking, while somehow managing to look calculating at the same time. Trying to figure out how those two expressions mixed together, Hermione looked over at Jade to see her motioning for her to come over.

_Now or never._

Walking over towards Jade, Hermione stood beside her friend and turned to face the two boys that she had only seen the back of. The first in her line of sight was the dark haired youth, and she saw that his hair in the front was long and curved into his face. A silver lip ring glinted on the right side of his bottom lip, and he was chewing on it absently as his piercingly sapphire eyes assessed her.

Glancing down at his shoes, she saw he wore bright purple converse and smirked slightly, clicking the plastic dice on each end of the slender barbell through her tongue against the backs of her front teeth. Her eyes moved on to the boy next to him, and her eyes widened.

Feeling like someone had slapped her several times across the face, Hermione blinked several times. She knew those cheekbones, knew those icy silver-gray eyes. And all that platinum blonde hair- that should have been a dead giveaway. But she was unfamiliar with the silver stud through his left eyebrow, or the snakebites through his bottom lip.

He was grinning at her- obviously he didn't recognize her. But then again, she _had_ changed a lot.

Who would have guessed that Draco Malfoy would be here, not even a half-hour from her house?

Her attention snapped to Jade as the ebony haired girl began the introductions.

"Everyone, this is my best friend, Mia. Mia, this is Drake," she nodded to the blonde, "Blaise," she motioned to the dark haired boy at his side, "and Aiden," she pointed to the remaining boy who was standing, who nodded to her, crystal green eyes sweeping over her before returning to her face.

"And _this,_ is Pansy."

Hermione's stomach dropped.

She _knew_ that she recognized that face.

She just didn't know that _Pansy Parkinson_ was the one behind it.

God, fucking _dammit_, Hermione mentally recited, looking over at Pansy, who now was just smirking.

"Heylo, _Hermione_," the Slytherin drawled, her smirk widening into a shit-eating grin.

The two boys in front of her choked on air.

"Ah, fuck." Hermione rubbed her temples.

Jade looked between Pansy, Hermione, Draco and Blaise in confusion.

A/N

And what do you know. More secrets come out. Yeah okay I know I took forever to update. So sue me, I finally did. Shit. Now review or I'll take another like five months or whatever it was.

Love you,

Cianyde.


	7. Chapter IIV

**Title: **Filter Effect

**Summary: **In order to change the outsides of something you don't like, you have to change the insides, Hermione realized with a start.

**Rating:** M

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Author's Notes: **Oh my goodness. I'm posting a new chapter. Amazing. But, you know, I'm on my computer, I'm supposed to be doing homework, and I feel like typing. So, here you go. New chapter, yay. And I didn't get that many reviews for chapter six, so you assholes, review. :D You know you love me. And I love you. Thanks to those who did review, and to someone's question, all will be explained eventually.

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_Flashback:_

_God, fucking, dammit, Hermione mentally recited, looking over at Pansy, who now was just smirking._

"_Heylo, Hermione," the Slytherin drawled, her smirk widening into a shit-eating grin._

_The two boys in front of her choked on air._

"_Ah, fuck." Hermione rubbed her temples._

_Jade looked between Pansy, Hermione, Draco and Blaise in confusion._

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No one said anything for a while. Hermione was struggling to find the words to explain what the hell was going on _without_ revealing the existence of the magical world, and simply couldn't find an explanation good enough. Nothing really made sense- what could she say? Oh, they went to the same boarding school, and hated each other because they were from different cliques of the school? Actually— Hermione paused. That just might work. She might be able to- waaaaiiiit a minute. Why were three pureblooded wizards in London? In _muggle___London, and wearing muggle clothing, and hanging with Jade, who was, as far as Hermione knew, a muggle?

She had done nothing wrong- _they_ were the ones who needed to explain.

Finally looking over at Jade, who had been trying to catch her eye for the last ten minutes, Hermione leaned back against a table and crossed her arms, steadfastly refusing to look over at either Blaise, Draco or Pansy, all of whom she could feel staring intently at her.

"Will someone please tell me what the HELL IS GOING ON?!" Jade finally exploded, waving her hands in the air for emphasis as nobody moved after her first few words.

Hermione sighed, really not wanting to get into this but wanting to clear the air all the same. "I suppose you should ask them, really," she drawled out emotionlessly, examining her nails and jerking her chin towards the three, smirking slightly as she did so. Pansy, who had been watching her the way you might watch an extremely interesting specimen from behind glass, arched her eyebrows in bewildered surprise. This couldn't possibly be the Granger that they remembered- there were no way in hell she could act that Slytherin.

Jade turned to Draco and Blaise, both of whom were staring at Hermione, not just a little confused. Where had the uptight, All-I-Care-About-Is-My-Marks, Hermione-The-Bookworm-Granger disappeared to? This petite, wild-haired brunette with the intense navy blue stare could in no way be the golden Gryffindor princess. This girl was way too relaxed, way too, well, _hot_, to be the girl they remembered exchanging snide remarks with not just a month and a half ago, and were slightly looking forward to bothering in just a few short weeks.

The girl standing before them exuded a quiet confidence, a presence that said, I don't give a shit what you think. And, Jesus Christ, when had she had that _body_? How could she have hidden those hips under her robes for all that time? Well, those robes _were_ pretty shapeless…

Hermione heaved a giant sigh, rolling her eyes when no one spoke. "Jade, they—well—we, actually, go to the same school. And we don't really…get along that well, I guess. Basically, we reign on opposite sides of the school." She chewed her lip as Jade digested this piece of information. Pansy had tilted her head to the side, surveying Hermione with unabashed interest. Hermione met her gaze unflinchingly and raised her eyebrows as if to say, what, you like what you see? Pansy smirked softly and looked away towards Draco, who was pulling on one of his lip rings. He seemed content to sit there and say nothing, refusing to look up.

It was Pansy's turn to sigh. "Okay, whatever. Granger, I honestly don't give a fuck where you come from, okay? It doesn't matter that you're in Gr-" she cut off, masking her slip with a coughing fit. "That you're not part of our group," She finished delicately, ignoring Jade's raised eyebrow. "We're not in school right now. Plus, the place you hold at school really doesn't translate to the rest of the world, so it shouldn't matter now, now should it?" Pansy finished with a raised brow, meeting Hermione's stare unflinchingly.

Hermione cocked her head to the side, eyeing Pansy with renewed interest. "Interesting that you would be the one to say that," she said finally, crossing her arms loosely over her chest and smiling. Pansy shrugged.

"I'm probably the more open-minded one of those two bloody idiots over there," she said as a way of explanation, waving her hand towards the two seated at the bench.

Hermione snickered as Blaise's head shot up, a wounded expression on his face. "Hey! That's not fair. I'm open-minded." He puffed out his chest indignantly as Pansy and Hermione snickered together.

"Drake, they're ganging up on us already. They haven't even been talking for ten minutes, and they're already teaming up." Blaise whined and nudged Draco, trying to get him involved.

Shaking his head, the blonde threw his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Oh, hell-fucking-no. There is no way I'm getting in the crossfire of either Granger's acid tongue, _or _Pansy's. Ah, well. They're on the same side, anyways, now, whether or not we try and gang up on them."

Hermione opened her mouth to protest that she was _not _siding with Pansy-bloody-Parkinson, thank-you-very-much, but froze when said girl slung an arm around her shoulders and snickered.

"Damn straight, Malfoy, and get used to it." Pansy smiled in a conspiratorial manner at Hermione and removed her arm. "So, whadda they call you now, anyways, Granger?"

Slightly confused, Hermione raised an eyebrow and shot a look at Jade, who was listening to the conversation with an amused smile curling her lips. "Uhm- well, I guess…" Reeeallll intelligent, Granger. "Uhm, Hermione is fine, I guess. Or Mya. Whatever." There, that was better. At least she could articulate now.

"I call her Mia," Jade interjected, startling Hermione into gaping at her open-mouthed. "What? I do," she responded primly, twisting the ends of her hair.

Hermione simply shook her head and seated herself, propping her chin in her hand.

This was _way_ too weird for words.

A/N

Okay, yes. That was short, I know. So sue me. I needed to put up SOMETHING before you all tried to virtually rip my face off. The next one will be much longer, I swear! Review all you people who KNOW you love me!

Xoxo Cianyde


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